Nothing traumatizes homeowners like seeing crabgrass and other weeds invade their lawns. These unwanted plants can damage your turf quickly, so taking precautions as early as possible is necessary. You can fix the problem by spraying the lawn with chemical herbicides or home remedies like baking soda. This article will discuss the process of killing crabgrass with baking soda. Keep reading to learn more.
To kill crabgrass with baking soda, wet the weeds first, then cover the surrounding plants to avoid damaging them. Apply enough baking soda to these weeds and allow it to sit for a few hours for better absorption. Afterward, use your hand, weed remover, or a shovel, to remove dead crabgrass and reseed the patches. Leaving the spots bare after removing crab grass encourages the growth of more new weeds.
How to Kill Crabgrass with Baking Soda
Baking soda crabgrass killer makes the leaves, stems, and roots dry, thus damaging and killing the plants’ tissues. Here are the crabgrass prevention steps using baking soda;
1. Water the crabgrass
Use a garden hose or sprinkler to wet areas with crabgrass. Don’t water the lawn if you’re applying this chemical in the morning or during the rainy season when the grass is wet. This water helps the baking soda to stick effectively to the plant surface for better results.
2. Cover neighboring plants
Baking soda kills crabgrass and other plants as well. So, cover the surrounding crops with cardboard before applying this chemical to crabgrass.
3. Apply baking soda
Sprinkle all infested areas with a fair amount of baking soda for maximum effects. Apply multiple times to areas with too much crabgrass.
4. Leave the baking soda to sit for a few hours
Once you spray these unwanted weeds with the crabgrass killer, allow the baking soda to sit for a few hours. This helps in the absorption of this chemical by plant roots.
5. Remove crabgrass
Use a shovel or weed remover to remove crabgrass once the plants turn black or brown. Pull them properly to prevent the sprouting of new weeds.
6. Reseed the bare spots
Reseed all the bare patches once you remove the crabgrass. Leaving these spots without grass for long will encourage the growth of new weeds.
How to Recognize and Remove Crabgrass Early
Once you plant Kentucky bluegrass, occasionally check if light green blades form and thicken the lawn. You may think your grass is having a remarkable season, but that is probably young crabgrass.
So, pull out those crabgrass shoots carefully without damaging the turf. Doing this at an early stage helps get rid of crabgrass from your yard effectively. If you wait for these weeds to mature before you remove them, they might scatter their seeds all over the lawn.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to conduct crabgrass removal when the plants are still young or when you spot them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Is baking soda harmful to grass?
A: Baking soda is also sodium bicarbonate, which is a salt. Note; applying salt to your lawn can harm it, and baking soda is no exception. It is alkaline and will damage the turf even when applied in a low percentage.
Q: Which is the best crab grass treatment?
A: If your lawn has a few crabgrass plants, apply Scotts Spot Weed Control, a ready-to-use product for treating lawns. The spray kills all weeds down to the root and doesn’t damage your grass. However, you have to use it as directed to ensure crabgrass prevention.
Q: What is the best time to kill crabgrass?
A: The best time to apply pre emergent crabgrass killer is during late winter or early spring.
Conclusion
Seeing crabgrass or other unwanted weeds invading your turf is so discouraging. For this reason, knowing how to get rid of crabgrass with a home remedy like baking soda is crucial. You can decide to apply pre or post emergent crabgrass killer, but baking soda does a commendable job without killing the grass.
To kill crabgrass with baking soda, wet these weeds first, cover the neighboring plants, and apply enough baking soda. Leave this chemical for a few hours and remove the crabgrass once it turns black or brown.
After that, reseed the bare spots immediately to prevent the growth of new weeds.
